A baby born at 22 weeks is thriving despite being so small he could wear his dad's wedding ring as a bracelet.
Ima Carnelus, 37, went into labour at 21 weeks due to a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Doctors told Ima and her husband, Marcus, 42, they had to pick between an emergency surgery or letting their baby pass away naturally, she said.
They wanted to "give him a chance" so tiny Jaxson was born via emergency c-section at 22 weeks.
He was given a 20 per cent chance of survival but the tot - just 11 inches long and weighing 1lb 2.9oz - survived the birth.
He was the most premature baby the hospital had ever seen.
Jaxson was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Miller's Children's Hospital, Long Beach, California, for surgery, where he fought for his life.
Against the odds, he went home after 119 days in hospital.
Jaxson has just started third grade - a milestone doctors warned he'd likely never reach - and his proud parents say the journey made the whole family stronger.
Ima, an entrepreneur, from Torrance, California, US, said: "When doctors gave him a 20 per cent chance of survival, we still wanted to give him a chance.
"It was touch and go at the beginning - I felt guilty, like my body had failed my son.
"When he eventually came home, he was an amazing little baby.
"Now he's just turned eight - nobody expected he'd make it past the first 24 hours, never mind eight years.
"A lot of times people think it was the worst thing to happen to us but honestly it was the best.
"It made us look at life in a different perspective and appreciate the gift of life."
Ima and Marcus, a fashion business owner, were excited to learn they'd be having their first child due in November 2015.
The pregnancy was smooth until 21 weeks - on July 9, Ima developed a UTI, which triggered a pre-term labour as her body tried to fight the infection.
Doctors were confident that they could delay labour for a bit longer to give the baby more time to develop.
But she had another bout of illness, five days later, and this time it triggered active labour.
After 10 hours of contractions doctors warned the tot had just a 20 per cent chance of survival - and warned he could be born severely disabled.
Ima - also mum to Kamryn, four - said: "The doctors suggested we let him be born with no life-saving measures, and just let him pass away peacefully.
"They didn't feel we should put him through what they thought would be a 'hard life'.
"But we thought 'what if a miracle could happen?' - and we'd love him however he came out.
"We knew we wanted to give him a chance."
On July 18, at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center, tiny Jaxson was born via emergency c-section.
Weighing just 1lb 2.9oz and measuring just 11 inches, doctors swooped in as he wasn't breathing.
The tot was so small he could wear dad Marcus' wedding ring as a bracelet.
After a "touch and go" 24 hours, where the tot was resuscitated three times, medics wired him up to a
Ima Carnelus, 37, went into labour at 21 weeks due to a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Doctors told Ima and her husband, Marcus, 42, they had to pick between an emergency surgery or letting their baby pass away naturally, she said.
They wanted to "give him a chance" so tiny Jaxson was born via emergency c-section at 22 weeks.
He was given a 20 per cent chance of survival but the tot - just 11 inches long and weighing 1lb 2.9oz - survived the birth.
He was the most premature baby the hospital had ever seen.
Jaxson was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Miller's Children's Hospital, Long Beach, California, for surgery, where he fought for his life.
Against the odds, he went home after 119 days in hospital.
Jaxson has just started third grade - a milestone doctors warned he'd likely never reach - and his proud parents say the journey made the whole family stronger.
Ima, an entrepreneur, from Torrance, California, US, said: "When doctors gave him a 20 per cent chance of survival, we still wanted to give him a chance.
"It was touch and go at the beginning - I felt guilty, like my body had failed my son.
"When he eventually came home, he was an amazing little baby.
"Now he's just turned eight - nobody expected he'd make it past the first 24 hours, never mind eight years.
"A lot of times people think it was the worst thing to happen to us but honestly it was the best.
"It made us look at life in a different perspective and appreciate the gift of life."
Ima and Marcus, a fashion business owner, were excited to learn they'd be having their first child due in November 2015.
The pregnancy was smooth until 21 weeks - on July 9, Ima developed a UTI, which triggered a pre-term labour as her body tried to fight the infection.
Doctors were confident that they could delay labour for a bit longer to give the baby more time to develop.
But she had another bout of illness, five days later, and this time it triggered active labour.
After 10 hours of contractions doctors warned the tot had just a 20 per cent chance of survival - and warned he could be born severely disabled.
Ima - also mum to Kamryn, four - said: "The doctors suggested we let him be born with no life-saving measures, and just let him pass away peacefully.
"They didn't feel we should put him through what they thought would be a 'hard life'.
"But we thought 'what if a miracle could happen?' - and we'd love him however he came out.
"We knew we wanted to give him a chance."
On July 18, at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center, tiny Jaxson was born via emergency c-section.
Weighing just 1lb 2.9oz and measuring just 11 inches, doctors swooped in as he wasn't breathing.
The tot was so small he could wear dad Marcus' wedding ring as a bracelet.
After a "touch and go" 24 hours, where the tot was resuscitated three times, medics wired him up to a
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00:00 poses. This one might be more accurate. It's a little faster.
00:06 Okay, 6.15. So we'll go 6.15. So we gained five grams and he's one pound six
00:15 ounces.
00:26 21.
00:32 Oh, do you start with paper? I start with paper. Oh yeah, by all means.
00:56 He's still on room air. I'm ready whenever you guys are.
01:02 Did you guys already weigh? Yes.